Category: Film

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More Things To Do in York and beyond as Shakespeare and Rocky Horror shine on. Hutch’s List No. 16, from The York Press

Collage and mixed-media artist Donna Maria Taylor: Participating in York Open Studios at South Bank Studios

FROM Rocky Horror film stars to Shakespeare in a suitcase, Bowie to Boe, Priscilla to The Psychic premiere, Charles Hutchinson is spoilt for choice again.

Art event of the week: York Open Studios, York and beyond, today and Sunday, 10am to 5pm

FOR a second weekend, 150 artists and makers within York and a ten-mile radius of the city are welcoming visitors to 107 workplaces and studios.

This annual event offers the chance to gain a sneak peek into where the artists work, their methods and inspirations, whether a regular contributor or the 27 new participants, spanning traditional and contemporary painting and print, illustration, drawing, ceramics, mixed media, glass, sculpture, jewellery, textiles and photography. For more information, visit yorkopenstudios.co.uk; access the interactive map at yorkopenstudios.co.uk/map.

Weather Balloons’ Anne Prior: Playing Navigators Art’s YO Underground #7 bill at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse

Arts collaboration of the week: Navigators Art/Projects presents YO Underground 7, The Basement, City Screen, York, tonight, 7.30pm

CONTINUING its mission to present adventurous left-field music and words from York and the region, Navigators Art plays host to a mixed bill of uniquely styled indie song-writing from Weather Balloons’ Anne Prior, the Joe Douglas Trio’s North African-inspired free jazz and a collaboration between audiovisual projections and Ben Hopkinson’s quartet Synaefonia. Box office: bit.ly/nav-events.

Blue: In full bloom at York Barbican tonight

Limited ticket availability: Blue and special guests 911, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm; Alfie Boe, York Barbican, April 28, 7pm

REVITALISED boy band Blue have released the single Flowers, penned by good friend Robbie Williams and Boots Ottestad, ahead of their 25th anniversary tour date at York Barbican.

“Robbie reached out to me a while back and said ‘I’ve got a song for Blue’,” says Blue’s Antony Costa, who will be joined as ever by Duncan James, Lee Ryan and Simon Webbe. “We only got to record it recently and thought it would be perfect to release for the anniversary tour. We can’t wait for you all to hear Flowers.”

Tenor Alfie Boe plays York on Tuesday and Harrogate Royal Hall on Wednesday on his 35-date tour, combining his most iconic hits and fan-favourite classics with material from new album Face Myself. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk; for Boe, https://gigst.rs/AB26.

Alfie Boe: Tenor dramatics at York Barbican. Picture: Ray Burmiston

Book event of the week: Rivers, Water and Wildness, A Talk by Amy-Jane Beer, St Chad’s Church, Campleshon Road, York, April 28, 7.30pm to 9pm

THE Friends of Nun Ings invite you to Rivers, Water and Wildness, Our Rivers and Their Landscapes, a talk by biologist-turned-writer and former South Bank resident Amy-Jane Beer, author of The Flow, winner of the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing 2023, who now lives on the Derwent.

The Flow is a book about water, and, like water, it meanders, cascades and percolates through many lives, landscapes and stories. From West Country torrents to Levels and Fens, rocky Welsh canyons and the salmon highways of Scotland to the chalk rivers of the Yorkshire Wolds, Beer follows springs, streams and rivers to explore tributary themes of wildness and wonder, loss and healing, mythology and history, cyclicity and transformation. Tickets are available via eventbrite; admission is free but donations are welcome.

Nell Campbell (Columbia), Barry Bostwick (Brad Majors) and Patricia Quinn (Magenta) celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Let’s do the Time Warp…again: The Rocky Horror Picture Show 50th Anniversary Spectacular Tour 2026, York Barbican, Sunday, 7pm

JOIN the original Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick), Magenta (Patricia Quinn) and Columbia (Nell Campbell) for this once-in-a-lifetime screening event with a live shadow cast. Jim Sharman’s 1975 film of Richard O’Brien’s musical will be shown in a 4K remastered edition, preceded by a Q&A with the movie stars. Expect a costume contest, memorabilia display with film artefacts and a participation prop bag for every ticket holder. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: In Concert: David Bowie on screen at York Barbican

Fantastical film and music event of the week: Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: In Concert, York Barbican, April 27, 7.30pm

JIM Henson’s musical fantasy film Labyrinth is on tour in concert in celebration of its 40th anniversary, transporting audiences to Goblin City in a fusion of film on a large HD cinema screen and live music on stage, performed by a band playing David Bowie and Trevor Jones’s soundtrack score and songs in sync with Bowie’s original vocals.

Taking on an ever-growing cult status since its release on June 27 1986, Labyrinth stars Bowie as principal antagonist Jareth the Goblin King, who rules the goblin kingdom, kidnaps protagonist Sarah’s baby brother and presents a charming yet menacing challenge, appearing as a rock star-like figure who lures and influences her journey. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Degrees Of Error’s poster for you-do-it whodunit Murder She Didn’t Write

Sleuthing opportunity of the week: Degrees Of Error in Murder She Didn’t Write, Grand Opera House, York, April 28, 7.30pm

DON your deerstalker, grab your magnifying glass and prepare your “finger of suspicion” as Edinburgh Fringe favourites Degrees Of Error return for your sleuthing pleasure, creating a classic murder mystery on-the-spot in this ingenious improvised comedy.

You, the audience, become the author as the cast acts out your very own Agatha Christie-inspired masterpiece live on stage. At each show, the company uses your suggestions to create an original and comical murder mystery. All you have to do is solve it. Ms Gold poisoned at a synchronised swimming gala? Dr Blue exploded by cannon during a hot air balloon race? Professor Violet crushed to death at a Love Island re-coupling? You decide – but will you guess whodunit before the killer is revealed? Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Kristian Barley’s Adam, left, Steve Tearle’s Bernadette and Matthew Clarke’s Tick in NE Theatre York’s musical Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert

Musical of the week: NE Theatre York in Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, April 28 to May 2, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

STEVE Tearle, creative director of NE Theatre York, plays Bernadette, joined by Matthew Clarke as Tick and Kristian Barley as Adam, in the adventure of two drag artists and a trans woman embarking on a life‑changing road trip across the Aussie outback in their battered tour bus, discovering the power of love, identity, acceptance and true friendship.

“As they head west through the Australian desert to chase a dream aboard their lavender bus, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, our three terrific travellers come to the forefront of a comedy of errors,” says Steve, whose high-energy production also features Helen Greenley as Shirley, Ben Rich as Jimmy, Steve Perry as Bob, the mechanic, Ali Butler-Hind as his wife Cynthia, plus disco divas Perri Ann Barley, Melissa Boyd and Aileen Hall. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Eileen Walsh, left, Jaz Singh Deol, Megan Placito, Andy Nyman, Nikhita Lesler and Jeremy Dyson in rehearsal for the world premiere of The Psychic at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Manuel Harlan

World premiere of the week: The Psychic, York Theatre Royal, April 29 to May 23

“IS any of it real,” ask Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman in The Psychic, the latest spook-fest from the writer-director duo behind Ghost Stories. In their twisted new thriller, popular TV psychic Sheila Gold loses a high-profile court case that brands her a charlatan, costing her not only her reputation but also a fortune in legal fees.

When a wealthy couple ask Sheila to conduct a séance to attempt to make contact with their late child, she senses an opportunity to bleed them for money. What follows makes her question everything she has ever believed and leads her on a journey into the darkest corners of her life. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Pulling Shakespearean strings: Gemma Curry in Hoglets Theatre’s Spooky Shakespeare Suitcase Theatre at York International Shakespeare Festival

Children’s show of the week: Hoglets Theatre presents Spooky Shakespeare Suitcase Theatre, York International Shakespeare Festival, York St John University Creative Centre Auditorium, April 29, 6.30pm

HAGS, hauntings, hobgoblins and more emerge from the spooky suitcase owned by Lady Macbeth (Dotty to her friends). These spectres from performances past need to retell their stories before they can find peace in the literary afterlife, but are they friends or will we need to be vanquished back into the supernatural suitcase?

Written, crafted and performed by Hoglets Theatre founder, director, writer and performer Gemma Sharp, this funny, energetic children’s theatre experience presents a world of hand-made puppets, music and storytelling, all performed from a single suitcase. “No prior knowledge of Shakespeare is required,” she says. Box office: https://yorkshakes.co.uk/programme-2026/spooky-shakespeare-suitcase-theatre/.

The poster for Scott Bradley’s premiere of A Kingdom Jack’d at York International Shakespeare Festival

The poster for Scott Bradley’s premiere of A Kingdom Jack’d at York International Shakespeare Festival starring Rosy Rowley, whose birthday coincides with the opening night

Shakespeare spin-off of the week: 1st Zanni Theatre in A Kingdom Jack’d, York International Shakespeare Festival, Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, York April 29 and 30, 7.30pm

IN A Kingdom Jack’d, American playwright Scott Bradley re-imagines an iconic moment in political and Shakespearean history: what if disgraced knight Jack Falstaff (Rosy Rowley) somehow found his way onto the throne of England in 1399, instead of serious warrior-king Henry IV?

Stupid, lecherous, selfish but humorous, Shakespeare’s most (in)famous clown must somehow fund the army, balance the budget and make foreign policy between naps. His government is drunk, his enemies are plotting,his allies are scheming, and even his girlfriend wants a piece of the action. Falstaff is king but for how long? Box office: yorkshakes.co.uk.

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Let’s do the Time Warp again as trio of The Rocky Horror Picture Show movie stars head to York Barbican tomorrow

Nell Campbell (Columbia), left, Barry Bostwick (Brad Majors) and Patricia Quinn (Magenta): Reuniting for The Rocky Horror Picture Show 50th Anniversary Spectacular Tour

THREE stars from The Rocky Horror Picture Show are doing the Time Warp again on a 13-date tour to mark the cult film’s 50th anniversary. Next stop, York Barbican, tomorrow night (26/4/2026).

Barry Bostwick, the original Brad Majors; Nell Campbell, the original Columbia, and Patricia Quinn, the original Magenta,  are touring Great Britain together for the first time to take part in a question-and-answer session at each show before the screening of Jim Sharman’s film version of Richard O’Brien’s musical.

The August 1975 movie will be shown in a new 4k print, accompanied by a shadow cast performing key scenes ‘live’ on stage while the full unedited film is shown behind them.

Tomorrow’s audience will have an opportunity to meet the stars; view a memorabilia display with film artefacts; participate in a costume contest (judged by Patricia); interact with the shadow cast and utilise the participation prop bag included with every ticket for use throughout the show.

Barry Bostwick’s Brad Majors in the 1975 film

Barry, now 81, says: “It’s coming back where it all began: London, Bray Studios in Windsor, then the world! Thank you to my friends of inclusion and weirdness for welcoming me 50 years ago and again today!! I look forward to sharing my amazing 50 years of Rocky with all of you.”

Patricia, 81, says: “[More than] 50 years ago, I auditioned for The Rocky Horror Show at the 60-seat Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London. I asked my agent, ‘what’s it about?’. He replied, ‘something to do with a circus’. He wasn’t wrong. I’ve been in this circus ever since!  ‘Cirque du Rocky Horror’. I’m lucky! We’re all lucky!! Don’t dream it, be it.” 

Nell Campbell, 72,  says: “It is extraordinary that five weeks’ filming in 1974, belting out the joys of transvestites and dancing The Time Warp in fishnets and corsets, resulted in a movie so beloved that a fifth generation of fans are frocking up to join in our celebrations.  What a thrill to meet the UK fans, share our stories and together shiver with aaaaanticipation.”

Quick refresher course: The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the iconic little movie of O’Brien’s musical that conquered Hollywood starring Tim Curry as the devious and fabulous Frank-N-Furter; Bostwick and Susan Sarandon as nerdy American college couple Brad and Janet; Meat Loaf as ex-delivery boy Eddie, who dates a groupie, Campbell’s Columbia, and  Quinn’s Magenta, servant to Riff Raff, O’Brien’s role.

Patricia Quinn’s Magenta in The Rocky Horror Picture Show

“We’ve already done the tour across America, 15 states” says Patricia, when speaking ahead of the UK tour’s opening show in Manchester on April 10. “More like 32 cities,” says Barry. 

The reaction? “It was truly beyond belief,” says Patricia. “It was beyond my wildest dreams. I thought I knew everything about Rocky Horror. I thought I knew all the fandom. I thought I knew everything. I do a lot of Comic Cons and there’s grandmas and their daughters and their granddaughters all dressed as Magenta, whatever, asking for one’s autograph.

“And I thought, there’s nothing I don’t know about the fan situation of this. But I hit the States and I was beyond overwhelmed. I mean, 1,000, 2,000, sometimes 3,000 people a night would be at the film. Beyond extraordinary – and they don’t clap when one comes on. They stand up and yell!”

Patricia and Nell are no strangers to audience cheers. “Pat and I were both in the original London stage production,” says Nell. “We were witness to the show being written and put together, and the songs came out throughout what was only a three-week rehearsal period. But the show came together and sort of doubled in its size to what it began as.

Nell Campbell’s Columbia in The Rocky Horror Picture Show

“But because Tim Curry [Frank-N-Furter] especially was so unbelievable on stage and worshipped, we did have an audience going nuts every night after he came on.”

Barry first saw Curry in the role at the Roxy in Los Angeles. “From the moment I saw him on stage and running around, I was in ball!” he recalls. Cue audience participation: “Well, the ghouls, they come and they seat you. And then they do things to you, apparently, to warm you up for the craziness! And I felt underneath my table that my toes were being sucked on by Kim Milford,  who was playing Rocky at the time.”

Why has Rocky Horror endured, both on screen and stage? “Because it’s good,” says Patricia. Is it that simple? “Yes, of course. The music’s wonderful.” 

“It’s a rock’n’roll show, you know, and rock’n’roll never gets old,” says Barry.  “It’s for everybody, sexually; hetero, trans, bi,” says Nell. “Don’t dream it, be it. Well, it’s got great songs. The characters are great.

The poster artwork for The Rocky Horror Picture Show 50th Anniversary Spectacular Tour

It looks fantastic – and it whizzes along. It’s a celebration of all types of sexuality. It’s a musical that does liberate people and there is no other musical I think that affects people like that and embraces every sexuality and encourages people to be who you are and love every bit of it.”

Nell is revelling in the audience interaction. “It really is a party of everyone getting together. We dress up, they dress up, and we all have a hoedown – and I do encourage the audience to  think beforehand what question they would really love to have us answer because we might be the very key to unlock something they’ve always wondered about,” she says.

“But they should also dig in the back of their closet and find that feather boa from maybe 30 years ago,” says Barry, who likes to  give a prize to whoever asks the best question.

There is still time to put on your thinking cap, York. “We always get the question, ‘who is sleeping with who?’”, says Barry. So, not that one. 

The Rocky Horror Picture Show 50th Anniversary Spectacular Tour 2026, York Barbican, tomorrow (26/4/2026), 7pm. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 14 for Gazette & Herald

Oliver Davis, Amber Wadey, Connor Keetley and Abigail Bailey in The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show. Picture: Pamela Raith

FROM a very hungry caterpillar to a life-changing musical, a Ritchie  Blackmore tribute to Normal poetry, Charles Hutchinson  looks on the bright side for spring joy. 

Children’s show of the week: ROYO presents The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, York Theatre Royal, tomorrow, 2pm and 4pm; Friday and Saturday, 11am and 2pm

CREATED by Jonathan Rockefeller, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show features 75 lovable puppets in a faithful 50-minute adaptation of four stories by author/illustrator Eric Carle:Brown Bear, Brown Bear, 10 Little Rubber Ducks, The Very Busy Spider and the titular star of the show. In the cast will be Abigail Bailey, Oliver Davis, Connor Keetley and  Amber Wadey. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Nic Cage Against The Machine: A tribute act like no other at The Crescent, York

York tribute act of the week: Nic Cage Against The Machine, The Crescent, York, Friday, 7.30pm

MOVE over Elvana, the covers- band conflation of Elvis and Nirvana. Here comes the even wilder Nic Cage Against The Machine, a tribute to Californian rock band Rage Against The Machine, fronted by an homage to Hollywood’s Nouveau Shamanic method actor supreme Nicolas Cage, with props. Leeds fun punks Moose Knuckle support. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

Blackmore’s Blood: Celebrating the hard rock of Deep Purple and Rainbow

Ryedale tribute show of the week: Blackmore’s Blood, Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 8pm

BLACKMORE’S Blood exploded on to the scene in 2016 with its tribute to Ritchie Blackmore’s rock years with Deep Purple and Rainbow, combining an authentic sound with a flamboyant stage presence and thrilling theatrics.

Playing not only the classics, every performance is a time machine, transporting audiences back to the glory days of hard rock with electrifying riffs, soaring melodies and Blackmore swagger. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

York Stage cast members in Nik Briggs’s production of Come From Away. Picture: Matthew Kitchen

Musical of the week: York Stage in Come From Away, Grand Opera House, York, Friday to April 18, 7.30pm, except Sunday and Monday; 2.30pm, Saturday matinees; 4pm, Sunday matinee

NIK Briggs directs the York premiere of Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s Olivier and Tony Award-winning musical account of the real-life story of 7,000 air passengers being grounded in Canada in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, whereupon the small Newfoundland community of Gander invites these “come from aways” into their lives with open hearts.

Performed by a cast of 19, Come From Away is “more than just a musical,” says Briggs. “It’s a celebration of humanity, resilience and the power of community. Step into a world where kindness conquers all, brought to life with invigorating, electrifying music and stories that will make you laugh, cry, and believe in the goodness of people.” Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Cyril Raymond and Janet Morrison in the poster for Meaningful Films’ documentary Briefest Encounters at City Screen Picturehouse

Film event of the week: Brief Encounter, Briefest Encounters and Q&A, City Screen Picturehouse, York, Friday, 7pm

FRIDAY’S screening of the 80th anniversary restoration of David Lean’s Brief Encounter (PG) will be followed by North Rigton-raised journalist, researcher and filmmaker Joanna Crosse’s new documentary, uncovering the untold love story behind the 1945 film, revealing the hidden past of her grandfather, actor Cyril Raymond,  who played Laura’s cuckolded husband Fred.

In an uncanny twist of fate, Raymond had a ‘brief encounter’ with actress Janet Morrison during a transatlantic stage production in 1929 that resulted in a child being born out of wedlock. Cinema myth meets lived experience in Briefest Encounters as interviews, letters, Raymond’s rediscovered diaries and archive material show how interrupted love, inherited silence and duty shaped family lives for generations. Crosse and fellow Meaningful Films filmmaker Luke Taylor will take part in a Q&A afterwards. Box office: picturehouses.com.

Classical pianist Julian Trevelyan: Performing at Helmsley Arts Centre

Classical concert of the week; Julian Trevelyan, Farewell Letters, Helmsley Arts Centre, April 11, 7.30pm

CONCERT pianist Julian Trevelyan performs regularly throughout Europe and in the UK. He moved to France after winning the 2015 Long-Thibaud-Crespin international competition at the age of 16, becoming the youngest prize-winner in the competition’s history. He has since won prizes at international piano competitions such as Leeds, Géza Anda & Horowitz. He will be performing works by Bach, Byrd, Oginski, Beethoven, Schönberg,  Strauss/Trevelyan and Mozart. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Jan Brierton and Henry Norma:l: Teaming up for poetry and humour at Helmsley Arts Centre

Poetry at the double: Edge Street Live presents Henry Normal and Jan Brierton, Milton Rooms, Malton, April 16, 7.30pm

WRITER, poet, television & film producer and Manchester Poetry Festival founder Henry Normal is joined by Dubliner Jan Brierton for an evening of poetry and humour. Normal, whose credits include co-writing The Mrs Merton Show and the first series of The Royle Family, will be reading from his new book A Quiet Promise.

Brierton riffs on modern life, love and friendships, wellness and ageing, rage and domestic exasperation in her poetic reflections on being a wife, mother, daughter, sister and retired raver, plus plenty of stuff about tea, lipstick and biscuits. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Maureen Onwunali: Slam champion in action at Say Owt’s night of poetry at The Crescent in York

Slam champ of the week: Say Owt presents Maureen Onwunali, The Crescent, York, April 17, 7.30pm

YORK spoken-word collective Sat Owt’s guest poet for April’s gathering will be Dublin-born Nigerian poet and two-time national slam champion Maureen Onwunali.

Rich with political observations and carefully crafted verse, her work has been featured by musicians, radio shows and organisations, such as the British Film Institute, Penguin, BBC, Roundhouse, Apples and Snakes, Obsidian Foundation and the Poetry Society. Box office: seetickets.com/event/say-owt-slam-featuring-maureen-onwunali/the-crescent/3588134. 

More Things To Do in York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 14, from The York Press

Amabile Clarinet Trio: Playing innovative programme at York Late Music concert

HAMLET on a sinking ship, family politics on a calamitous wedding day and artists’ studios opening on two weekends are the headline acts on Charles Hutchinson’s latest bill of arts delights.

Classical concert of the week: York Late Music presents Amabile Clarinet Trio, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, April 11, 7.30pm

THE Amabile Clarinet Trio – York clarinettist Lesley Schatzberger, cellist Nicola Tait Baxter and pianist Paul Nicholson – presents an innovative programme featuring two premieres plus Thea Musgrave’s Canta Canta!, patron Nicola LeFanu’s Lullaby and Nocturne, American composer Robert Muczynski’s rarely played Fantasy Trio and the first York performance ofAlexander von Zemlinsky’s Trio in D minor.

The UK premiere of David Lancaster’s Canzone Sospesoand a world premiere from composer David Power will be complemented by a set of Morris newly transcribed by York composer Steve Crowther. Lancaster gives a pre-concert talk at 6.45pm, to be enjoyed with a complimentary glass of wine or juice. Tickets: latemusic.org or on the door.

Lesley Jones and Steve Coates: Teaming up for the last time for Swing When You Sing

Farewell concert of the week: Steve Coates Music Productions present Swing When You Sing, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, April 12, 7.30pm

BEV Jones Music Company and The Jubilee Celebration Singers producer Lesley Jones bids farewell to the York stage after 20 years of mounting shows with Swing When You Sing, presented with Steve Coates Music Productions.

Alan Owens’s 16-piece big band will be joined on stage by singers Ruth McNeil, Annabel van Griethuysen, Hayley Bamford, Johanna Hartley, Adele Barlow, Larry Gibson, Terry Ford, Stephen Wilson, David Hartley and Geoff Walker to perform Rat Pack, Minnie The Moocher, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, Under The Sea, Cheek To Cheek, Sway (Latin), Fever, Mr Bojangles, Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black and Sing, Sing, Sing (with Bob Fosse-style dancing). “Varied? Yes! Upbeat? Yes! Emotional? Yes!” says Lesley. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

The poster for the launch of Bishy Road Community Choir 

Start-up of the week: Bishy Road Community Choir, Stables Yoga Centre, Nunmill Street, York, from April 13

THE Stables Yoga Centre and Rachel Davies are setting up the Bishy Road Community Choir to run on Mondays from 5pm to 5.50pm at £5 a session from April 13. This welcoming, musically accessible group will use song to promote happiness, wellbeing and community. No experience or musical skills are needed; only enthusiasm to try feel-good singing. To book a place, visit stablesyoga.co.uk/timetable.

Wedded bliss amid wedding-day blisters: Darren Barrott’s Marek and Joy Warner’s Sylvia in York Actors Collective’s Till The Stars Come Down

Family politics of the week: York Actors Collective in Till The Stars Come Down, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, April14 to 18, 7.30pm, Tuesday to Friday; 2pm and 6pm, Saturday

PREMIERED at the National Theatre in 2024 and now receiving its York premiere, Beth Steel’s contemporary British family drama is set on the wedding day of Sylvia and Marek in a South Yorkshire mining town.

Directed by Angie Millard, Till The Stars Come Down explores the tumultuous dynamics of a working-class family in a changing world of economic  decline and political shifts as long-held secrets, passions, and tensions surrounding class, immigration, and social change spill over into chaos and tragedy. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Ralph Davis’s Hamlet in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Hamlet, set on a sinking ship, on tour at York Theatre Royal

Titanic anniversary event of the week: Royal Shakespeare Company in Hamlet, York Theatre Royal, April 14 to 18, 7pm plus 1.30pm, April 16 and 2pm, April 18

LET director Rupert Goold introduces the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Hamlet, starring Ralph Davis, as the tour sets sail for York on the 114th anniversary of the Titanic’s descent to the depths. “Our production is set aboard a ship but one that is soon to founder, going down with all hands,” he says.

“Its inspiration comes from the most famous sinking in history, and just as that icy tragedy came to pass in a little over two and a half hours, our play takes place in real time and for about as long, as much catastrophic thriller as poetic meditation. This production asks what it means to be human and decisive when time is running out.” Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Jan Brierton and Henry Normal: Poetic humour at Milton Rooms, Malton 

Poetry at the double: Edge Street Live presents Henry Normal and Jan Brierton, Milton Rooms, Malton, April 16, 7.30pm

WRITER, poet, television & film producer and Manchester Poetry Festival founder Henry Normal is joined by Dubliner Jan Brierton for an evening of poetry and humour. Normal, whose credits include co-writing The Mrs Merton Show and the first series of The Royle Family, will be reading from his new book A Quiet Promise.

Brierton riffs on modern life, love and friendships, wellness and ageing, rage and domestic exasperation in her poetic reflections on being a wife, mother, daughter, sister and retired raver, plus plenty of stuff about tea, lipstick and biscuits. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Aggers & Tuffers: The chatter of cricket and the clatter of wickets at York Barbican

Not just cricket: Jonathan Agnew and Phil Tufnell in An Audience With Aggers & Tuffers, York Barbican, April 16, 7.30pm

TEST Match Special commentator-and-pundit duo Jonathan Agnew and Phil Tufnell take to the road for more cricket chat from beyond the boundary. Former Leicestershire and England fast bowler and three-decade BBC cricket correspondent Aggers teams up anew with record-breaking former England spin bowler and crowd favourite Tuffers, who gives his spin on his maverick playing days and second wind as a media personality on I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, Strictly Come Dancing and A Question Of Sport. Box office update: limited availability at yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Maureen Onwunali: Slam champ spinning words at Say Owt 

Slam champ of the week: Say Owt presents Maureen Onwunali, The Crescent, York, April 17, 7.30pm

YORK spoken-word collective Sat Owt’s guest poet for April’s gathering will be Dublin-born Nigerian poet and two-time national slam champion Maureen Onwunali.

Rich with political observations and carefully crafted verse, her work has been featured by musicians, radio shows and organisations, such as the British Film Institute, Penguin, BBC, Roundhouse, Apples and Snakes, Obsidian Foundation and the Poetry Society. Box office: seetickets.com/event/say-owt-slam-featuring-maureen-onwunali/the-crescent/3588134. 

 Jacqueline James: Demonstrating her hand-woven rug-making in Rosslyn Street, Clifton, at York Open Studios

Art event of the month: York Open Studios, York and beyond, April 18 & 19 and April 25 & 26, 10am to 5pm

ARTISTS and makers involved in York Open Studios are putting the final touches to their workplaces and studios within York and a ten-mile radius of the city, in readiness to welcome visitors across two weekends.

This annual event offers the chance to gain a sneak peek into where the artists work, their methods and inspirations, whether a regular participant or the 27 newcomers, spanning traditional and contemporary painting and print, illustration, drawing, ceramics, mixed media, glass, sculpture, jewellery, textiles and photography. For more information, visit yorkopenstudios.co.uk; access the interactive map at yorkopenstudios.co.uk/map.

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More Things To Do in York & beyond when putting Easter eggs baskets aplenty. Hutch’s List No. 13, from The York Press

York linocut printmaker and wildlife artist Gerard Hobson with one of his 13 bird boxes for the Castle Howard Easter Family Trail. Picture: David Scott

FROM a bird box trail and Vanbrugh’s architecture at Castle Howard to Horrible Histories in concert and a very hungry caterpillar, Charles Hutchinson embraces Easter’s extra spring in the step.

Birdlife event of the week: Castle Howard Easter Family Trail, Castle Howard Gardens & Arboretum, near York, until April 19

CASTLE Howard has collaborated with York artist and printmaker Gerard Hobson on a new interactive Easter trail, comprising 13 handmade wooden bird boxes installed for a springtime adventure across Castle Howard Gardens and the Arboretum.

The boxes house Hobson’s linocuts of birds, including swallow, magpie, woodpecker and wren, as part of a story designed for children as they all prepare for spring. “Young explorers will discover interesting facts about our feathered friends and learn more about their homes along the way,” he says. Admission is included in Castle Howard and Arboretum day tickets at castlehoward.co.uk/castlehowardarboretumtrust.org.

James B Partridge: Teaching the world to sing Primary School Bangers at York Barbican. Picture: Rebecca Johnson

“School” concert of the week: James B Partridge, Primary School Bangers, York Barbican, tonight, doors 7pm

TEACHER James B Partridge brings his viral hit show Primary School Bangers to York for a night of massive singalongs, throwback mash-ups and tongue-in-cheek humour. What started in the classroom has become a nationwide phenomenon – from Glastonbury to sold-out theatres – as James leads audiences through the songs that defined school days.

“Whether you’re a teacher, a parent, or just someone who remembers every word to He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands, this one’s for you,” he says.  Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk. 

Architect Roz Barr: Curator and designer of Staging The Baroque: Vanbrugh At Castle Howard. Picture: Carole Poirot

Exhibition of the week: Staging The Baroque: Vanbrugh At Castle Howard, on show at Castle Howard, near York, until October 31

STAGING The Baroque: Vanbrugh At Castle Howard celebrates its creator, the architect and playwright Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726), on the 300th anniversary of his death.

Designed and curated by architect Roz Barr, the exhibition chronicles the story of the stately home’s creation, exploring Vanbrugh’s visionary use of scale, shadow and light and his creative relationship with the third Earl of Carlisle, as shown in letters by Vanbrugh on public display for the first time. Tickets: castlehoward.co.uk.

Chris Helme: Showcasing new album Forest For The Trees at Rise@Bluebird Bakery

Recommended but sold out already: Chris Helme, Forest For The Trees Album Launch, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, April 5 and 6, doors 7.30pm

YORK songwriter and former Seahorses frontman Chris Helme plays a brace of official album launch gigs for Forest For The Trees after a busy 2025 touring his World Of My Own album.

Helme returned to the studio to record stripped-back versions of raw, soulful and bruised songs from his 30-year back catalogue. Forest For The Trees is the first of an ongoing series of recordings, showcasing gently crafted versions of Love Me & Leave Me, Standing On Your Head and other Seahorses classics and more besides.

Harrie Hayes’s Queen Elizabeth I makes her point to Richard David-Caine’s William Shakespeare in Horrible Histories: The Concert, Live And Dead On Stage! Picture: Matt Crockett

“The ultimate first concert for children”: Horrible Histories: The Concert, Live And Dead On Stage!, York Barbican, April 6, 2.30pm and 6.30pm; April 7, 11am and 3pm

FOR the first time, favourite songs and actors from Horrible Histories’ CBBC TV series will be live – and dead! – on stage in York. When Queen Elizabeth I asks William Shakespeare to create the greatest show on earth, he runs into trouble with monstrous King Henry VIII and Queen Victoria.

Once Death appears, Boudica and Cleopatra want to take over! Can things turn any worse? Of course they can! Cue songs such as Stupid Deaths, Charles II, Dick Turpin and The Monarchs Song, performed to a band led by Horrible Histories’ song master, Richie Webb. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Jason Fox: Helping you to reboot your thinking and challenge your limits at York Barbican

Advice of the week: Jason Fox: Embrace The Chaos, York Barbican, April 8, 7.30pm

SOME people are built to embrace the chaos. Adventurer, Royal Marine Commando and UK Special Forces soldier Jason Fox is one of them, having survived myriad hostile outposts as an elite operator, documentary maker and expedition leader.  

In his new show, Foxy shares stories of his close brushes with enemy gunmen, terrorist bomb makers and cartel leaders, while revealing his strategies for surviving and thriving in environments as life-threatening as the Arctic Circle and Afghan Badlands. Using principles from his military operations, he will help you to reboot your thinking, challenge your limits, change your habits, transform and rebalance your life – and he will answer audience questions too. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Clowning skills aplenty in Out Of The Box at Helmsley Arts Centre

Family show of the week: Darryl J Carrington in Out Of The Box, Helmsley Arts Centre, April 9, 2pm

DARRYL J Carrington transforms everyday objects into extraordinary adventures in Out Of The Box, where a toothbrush stars in a balancing act, a string sparks a heist and a tea party lands on someone’s head in an hour of joyful chaos, jaw-dropping skill and irresistible fun.

Carrington brings five-star Edinburgh Fringe reviews, the Brighton Fringe’s Best Family Show prize and more than 20 years of circus and clowning experience to his silent comedy’s blend of juggling, inventive physical theatre and audience interaction. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Professor Danny and lab assistant Crazy Kazy in Top Secret’s show The Magic Of Science, High Voltage

Fun experiments of the week: Top Secret in The Magic Of Science, High Voltage, Pocklington Arts Centre, April 9, 2pm

JOIN Top Secret as they go on a high-voltage adventure, The Magic Of Science, to ask the question “Is it magic…or is it science?” in a fast-moving, colourful, interactive show filled with mystery, suspense, experiments and loads of mess.

Danny Hunt and Stephanie Clarke take on the guise of Professor Danny and his lab assistant Crazy Kazy as they fuse the mystery of magic with wondrous and miraculous feats of science. Box office:  01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Abigail Bailey and the meal-seeking caterpillar in The Very Hungry Caterpillar, munching its way through York Theatre Royal. Picture: Pamela Raith

Children’s show of the week: ROYO presents The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, York Theatre Royal, April 9 to 11; Thursday, 2pm and 4pm; Friday and Saturday, 11am and 2pm

CREATED by Jonathan Rockefeller, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show features 75 lovable puppets in a faithful 50-minute adaptation of four stories by author/illustrator Eric Carle:Brown Bear, Brown Bear, 10 Little Rubber Ducks, The Very Busy Spider and the titular star of the show. 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar has delighted generations of readers since its publication in 1969, selling more than 48 million copies worldwide. Telling those tales will be a cast of Abigail Bailey, Oliver Davis, Connor Keetley and  Amber Wadey. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Tribute act at the double of the week: Nic Cage Against The Machine, The Crescent, York, April 10, 7.30pm

MOVE over Elvana, the covers- band conflation of Elvis and Nirvana. Here comes the even wilder Nic Cage Against The Machine, a tribute to Californian rock band Rage Against The Machine, fronted by an homage to Hollywood ‘s Nouveau Shamanic method actor supreme Nicolas Cage, with props. “Not sure what more you’re looking for here – if you’re not sold already I don’t know what to tell you,” says The Crescent website. Leeds fun punks Moose Knuckle support. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

York Stage cast members in Come From Away, making its York debut at the Grand Opera House. Picture: Matthew Kitchen

Musical of the week: York Stage in Come From Away, Grand Opera House, York, April 10 to 18, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm; Saturday matinees 2.30pm; Sunday matinee,  4pm

NIK Briggs directs the York premiere of Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s Olivier and Tony Award-winning musical account of the real-life story of 7,000 air passengers being grounded in Canada in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, whereupon the small Newfoundland community of Gander  invites these “come from aways” into their lives with open hearts.

Performed by a cast of 19, Come From Away is “more than just a musical,” says Briggs. “It’s a celebration of humanity, resilience and the power of community. Step into a world where kindness conquers all, brought to life with invigorating, electrifying music and stories that will make you laugh, cry, and believe in the goodness of people.” Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Brief Encounter actor Cyril Raymond and stage actress Janet Morrison, with Nicholas Crosse, the son he never met and was given up for adoption by Janet, a story told for the first time in Joanna Crosse’s documentary Briefest Encounters

Film event of the week: Brief Encounter, Briefest Encounters and Q&A, City Screen Picturehouse, York, April 10, 7pm

NEXT Friday’s screening of the 80th anniversary restoration of David Lean’s Brief Encounter (PG) will be followed by North Rigton-raised journalist, researcher and filmmaker Joanna Crosse’s new documentary, uncovering the untold love story behind the 1945 film, revealing the hidden past of her grandfather, actor Cyril Raymond,  who played Laura’s cuckolded husband Fred.

In an uncanny twist of fate, Raymond had a ‘brief encounter’ with actress Janet Morrison during a transatlantic stage production in 1929 that resulted in a child being born out of wedlock. Cinema myth meets lived experience in Briefest Encounters as interviews, letters, Raymond’s rediscovered diaries and archive material show how interrupted love, inherited silence and duty shaped family lives for generations. Crosse and fellow Meaningful Films filmmaker Luke Taylor will take part in a Q&A afterwards. Box office: picturehouses.com.

In Focus: James Graham’s Punch, Leeds Playhouse, April 7 to 11

Jack James Ryan’s Jacob in Punch. Picture: Pamela Raith

OLIVIER Award-winning playwright James Graham’s Punch is a true story of hope, humanity and the possibility of change.

Based on Jacob Dunne book Right From Wrong, it tells Jacob’s story of being a Nottingham teenager from The Meadows estate who spent his Saturday nights seeking thrills with his friends.

One fateful weekend, an impulsive punch leads to fatal consequences. After serving prison time, Jacob finds himself lost and directionless. Searching for answers, Joan and David – the parents of his victim James Hodgkinson – ask to meet, sparking a profound transformation in Jacob’s life.

Jacob’s unflinching account of the power of forgiveness sparked courthouse discussion and parliamentary debate in the House of Commons on the topic of Restorative Justice at the time of Punch’s 2024 premiere at the Nottingham Playhouse. The play was even cited by a judge when sentencing a one-punch case.

Finty Williams, left, Matthew Flynn, Grace Hodgett Young, Elan Butler (hidden), Jack James Ryan and Laura Tebbutt in Punch. Picture: Pamela Raith

Nottingham playwright Graham is one of Great Britain’s most celebrated writers, winning multiple Olivier Awards, as well as receiving BAFTA, Emmy and Tony Award nominations. His political drama This House opened at Leeds Playhouse in 2018. Now he returns to the Leeds theatre from April 7 to 11 with the energetic, entertaining but heartbreaking Punch after runs in London and on Broadway last year.

To complement Graham’s play, a Talking Circle structure will sit front of house to provide a space for audiences to gather and reflect on the performance, while post-show discussions on related themes will be led by expert speakers.

Graham was awarded the Longford Trust’s Kevin Pakenham Award for Punch, joined on the honours’ board by David Shields, winner of the Best Performance in a Play prize at the 2024 UK Theatre Awards 2024 for his lead role in the premiere.

On tour, the role of Jacob will be played by Jack James Ryan (Sing Street, Lyric Hammersmith; Coronation Street, ITV), joined in Adam Penford’s cast by Elan Butler (The Chaos That Has Been and Will No Doubt Return, Southwark Playhouse and UK Tour; Masters Of The Air, Apple TV+) as Raf and Sam and Matthew Flynn (The Winter’s Tale, Royal Shakespeare Company; Say Nothing, Disney/FX) as David, the father of James Hodgkinson.

Finty Williams’s Joan and Matthew Flynn’s David, James’s parents in Punch. Picture: Pamela Raith

In the company too will be Olivier-nominated Grace Hodgett Young (Sunset Boulevard, Savoy Theatre/St James Theatre; Hadestown, Lyric Theatre) as Clare and Nicola; Laura Tebbutt (Mrs Doubtfire, Shaftesbury Theatre; School Of Rock, Gillian Lynne Theatre) as Jacob’s mum and Wendy and Finty Williams (The Ocean At The End Of The Lane, national tour; Run Away, Netflix) as James’s mother, Joan.

The original creative team returns, including production designer Anna Fleischle (Death Of A Salesman, Broadway; 2:22 A Ghost Story, Young Vic Theatre); lighting designer Robbie Butler (How To Win Against History, Bristol Old Vic; Death In Venice, Welsh National Opera); sound designer and composer Alexandra Faye Braithwaite (Work It Out, HOME; Lost And Found, Factory International) and movement director Leanne Pinder (The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, Mountview; Disruption, The Park Theatre).

Punch is dedicated to the memory of James Hodgkinson and all victims of one punch. “James dedicated his life to the helping and healing,” says playwright James Graham in his programme note. “His 28 years were a testament to his outlook and his values – a volunteer, a mentor, a paramedic. He was loved by his family and friends, and he gave love in return.

“Theatre can and should be a restorative space of empathy, and increased understanding. We hope to honour and do justice to the man James was.”

Nottingham Playhouse, in association with KPPL Productions, Mark Gordon Pictures and Eilene Davidson Productions, presents Punch, Leeds Playhouse, April 7 to 11, 7.30pm plus 1pm Thursday and 2pm Saturday matinees. Age guidance: 12 plus. Box office: 0113 213 7700 or leedsplayhouse.org.uk.

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How life mirrors art in Joanna Crosse’s film documentary Briefest Encounters, showing at City Screen Picturehouse on April 10

Cyril Raymond, Nicholas Crosse and Janet Morrison. “Briefest Encounters is about more than one lost love; it’s about three intertwined lives, missed chances and the emotional cost of convention,” says documentary filmmaker Joanna Crosse

A REVELATORY documentary uncovering the hidden love story behind Brief Encounter will receive its northern premiere at City Screen Picturehouse, York, on April 10 at 7pm.

Briefest Encounters – An Untold Love Story has been waiting in the wings for decades to be told and now it will be, when shown in tandem with David Lean’s November 1945 film to mark its 80th anniversary.

North Rigton-raised journalist and filmmaker Joanna Crosse uncovers the secret past of her grandfather, actor Cyril Raymond, who played the quietly cuckolded husband, the crossword-filling Fred Jesson, in the Noel Coward-scripted film.

Through letters, interviews, archive material and diaries re-discovered in a bag at a car boot sale, Crosse’s documentary traces how a real-life ‘Brief Encounter’ between two actors, Raymond and Janet Morrison, during a transatlantic stage production [Josef Suss on Broadway] resulted in a child being born out of wedlock.

The poster for Meaningful Films’ documentary Briefest Encounters – An Untold Love Story

That child, renamed Nicholas Crosse when adopted four years later by a Bradford textile family, was not only brought up in Yorkshire but ended up playing a king alongside Dame Judi Dench’s “forgetful angel” in the 1951 revival of the York Mystery Plays in the Museum Gardens.

He was chairman of the Bradford Area of the York Minster Appeal Fund, assisting the preservation of one of the county’s most important spiritual and architectural landscapes, a contribution marked by a stained glass crest in his name.

Joanna trained as a journalist in Yorkshire and worked in newspapers, radio and television in God’s Own Country at different stages of her career. She and her colleague at Meaningful Films, Luke Taylor, premiered Briefest Encounters on the 80th anniversary of Lean’s film in Bath, where they both live,  but York is the first stop on a national tour.

Next Friday’s double bill  – the 80th anniversary restoration of Brief Encounter first, then Briefest Encounters – will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the two filmmakers, hosted by BBC Radio York breakfast show presenter Georgey Spanswick.

Documentary filmmaker Joanna Crosse on location in Whitstable, where actress Janet Morrison lived in her last years

Introducing her film, Joanna says: “Two actors meet on a Broadway stage in 1929 and have a passionate affair and the result is a child born out of wedlock. But that boy is never to know or meet his biological father and his mother gives him up for adoption when he is just four years old. This documentary tells the true life love story, which revolves around a series of brief encounters and missed opportunities that in the end take their toll on the lead players.

“Brief Encounter is an iconic film that explores the quiet heartbreak of forbidden love. It captures the emotional turmoil of two strangers who fall for each other but cannot be together. Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard brought that heartbreak to life on screen as Laura Jesson and Dr Alec Harvey. But off-screen, a quieter, even more tragic love story was unfolding – one that’s never been told. Until now.”

Joanna continues: “Briefest Encounters is about more than one lost love; it’s about three intertwined lives, missed chances and the emotional cost of convention. It is a testament to a hidden history and a reflection of the very themes that make Brief Encounter timeless: longing, restraint and the heartbreak of what might have been. It shows how interrupted love, inherited silence and duty shaped family lives for generations.”

Joanna has worked for ITV, BBC, IRN, GMTV, C4 and C5 as an on-screen journalist, presenter and Crime Stoppers reporter, has five books to her name, is a voice coach and runs theatrical digs too. Busy, busy! “To be honest, I’ve held on to this story for more than 30 years after my mother gave me the box of my father’s details, to be its custodian,” she says.

Filmmaker Joanna Crosse and actor daughter Sedona Rose during filming for Briefest Encounters. Picture: Meaningful Films

“I’ve always been interested in genealogy. Then last year, I said to Luke, ‘it’s the 80th anniversary of Brief Encounter, we’re just going to have to make this film now’, and we started by going up to Carnforth, where the refreshment room scenes were shot, to make a promo.

“I’ve been researching the story for decades and now all that work over 30 years has been gathered into a one-hour film.”

Joanna recalls how her father knew little of his roots. “My dim memory is of him telling me that he had been told he came from a theatrical family,” she says. “Rumours abounded across Yorkshire that he was a lost Royal love child.” Not so.

Nicholas never met his father, but the documentary reveals how he did “encounter” him when he chose to see a play at Leeds Grand Theatre as his treat on a holiday break from prep school. Who should be in the cast for the premiere of the musical comedy Under The Counter but Cyril Raymond.

Nicholas Crosse and his daughter Joanna on Denton Moor

Nicholas commented “what a wonderful man” he was watching on stage, but such were the laws surrounding adoption, his adoptive family could not tell him of his connection.

Nicholas would go on to work for his family textile business James Hill & Sons, serve on multiple committees and be appointed the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding, as well becoming involved with Norwood Film Productions. .

He died in 1981 at the age of 50. Unlike the actor parents he never knew, Cyril Raymond and Janet Morrison, whose ashes were thrown to the wind,  Nicholas Crosse has a commemorative headstone at St Helen’s Church, Denton, on the Yorkshire moorland near Ilkley, where his adoptive family had owned Denton Hall.

“He was always such a wonderful natural actor, always so humorous, always good with people,” says Joanna.

Brief Encounter, Briefest Encounters and Q&A with Meaningful Films’ Joanna Crosse & Luke Taylor, City Screen Picturehouse, York, April 10, 7pm. Box office: picturehouses.com/cinema/city-screen-picturehouse.

The London premiere will be held at Picturehouse Central on May 5 at 7.30pm with a Q&A. Follow Meaningful Films on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/meaningfulfilm/?hl=en

Nicholas Crosse’s head stone at St Helen’s Church, Denton

Briefest Encounters: the back story

CYRIL Raymond was a household theatrical name whose credits filled a page of Theatrical Who’s Who. During the Second World War he served as an RAF fighter controller during the Battle of Britain and reached the rank of Wing Commander. He was awarded the MBE in the 1945 Birthday Honours List.

He was married to actress Iris Hoey and then Gillian Lind. Her uncle was William Henry Pratt, better known as Boris Karloff.

Cyril had a brief affair with actress Janet Morrison, who came from a theatrical dynasty. Her grandfather gave Henry Irving his first break and her mother, aunts and brother were all well-known actors and dancers in their day. She spent some years in BBC Rep and was cast in various productions and films.

Actor Cyril Raymond

Cyril and Janet’s son was adopted at the age of four by a Yorkshire textile family and was known as Nicholas Crosse. He became a well-known West Riding business figure and was made Deputy Lord Lieutenant.

He ended his days becoming involved with a film company before dying of a heart attack at 50. He never knew who his biological parents were but loved the theatre all his life, appearing in the 1951 York Mystery Plays, playing a king, alongside Dame Judi Dench (then credited as Judith Dench) as an angel.

He was married with two daughters. Joanna, the eldest, went on a quest to discover her father’s birth family and realised this was a story that had to be told. Her research led her to discover various theatrical documents including Cyril Raymond’s diaries.

Nicholas Crosse in his role as a king in the 1951 York Mystery Plays, pictured at the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey in York Museum Gardens

She was reunited with them when she was interviewed on BBC Radio 4 alongside
actor Lucy Fleming, whose mother Celia Johnson played Laura, the wife of Cyril Raymond’s
Fred Jesson in Brief Encounter.

Joanna has three children. Her youngest daughter, Sedona Rose, has been an actor
since the age of 11 and helped in the search for the truth about her theatrical
grandparents.

Nicholas Crosse: A Yorkshire life

Born: November 21 1930.
Education: Wellington College, Crowthorne, Berkshire, 1944-1948.
Family: Married in 1955; two daughters. Lived at: High Folly, North Rigton, near Leeds.  
Stage school: New Era Academy of Drama and Music, London.
Joined Sir James Hill & Sons Ltd, Bradford wool importers and topmakers as an apprentice, studying all aspects of wool trade.
National Service: Commissioned in 10th Royal Hussars (PWO) in Germany.
Territorial Army: Yorkshire Hussars.
Re-joined Sir James Hill & Sons as an apprentice. Visited all wool-buying centres in Australia and New Zealand. Sales representative for home trade. Appointed export sales manager. Countries visited included North America, Europe, Middle East and North Africa.
Elected council member of Wool Industries Research Association.
Appointed to main board of Sir James Hill & Sons and sales director for home and overseas markets.
Bradford Chamber of Commerce representative on International Wool Textile Organisation and member of British National Committee.
Council member and hon. treasurer, Wool Exchange Council, Bradford.
Member of the Worsted Committee.
Chairman of Sir James Hill & Sons (Export) Ltd.

Nicholas Crosse

Other activities
Elected to Council of Bradford Chamber of Commerce.
Founder member and senior vice-president of Bradford Junior Chamber of Commerce.
President of Bradford Junior Chamber of Commerce.
Public relations and press liaison officer, Bradford Junior Chamber of Commerce.
Member of Livery of the Company of Merchants of The Staple of England.
Committee member of the Institute of Directors, West Riding of Yorkshire Branch.
Freeman of the City of London and member of Livery of the Worshipful Company of Woolmen.
Member of High Stewards committee of York Minster and chairman of Bradford Area York Minster Appeal Fund.
Life member and senator of Junior Chamber International.
Founder president of Bradford Division of British Red Cross Society.
Treasurer of Bradford City Conservative Association after three years as deputy treasurer.
President of Bradford Chamber of Commerce.
Mayor of Company of Merchants of the Staple of England.
Member of Leeds Regional Hospital Board.
Chairman of West Riding Branch of the Institute of Directors and ex-officio member of the council.
Council member of West Riding Industrialists’ Council.
Chairman of Bradford Area Health Authority.
Appointed Her Majesty’s Deputy Lieutenant of West Riding of Yorkshire and City of York.
Director of Aire Radio, which applied for I.B.A. franchise.
Nominated for High Sheriff for West Yorkshire.
Joined Norwood Studios Ltd.
Appointed to Board of Norwood Motion Pictures (U.K.) Ltd.
Appointed chairman of Wool, Jute and Flax Industry Training Board.
Appointed trustee of Industrial Training Foundation.

Nicholas Crosse’s stained glass stained glass crest at York Minster

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Grease is the word of the week for Ryedale Youth Theatre at Milton Rooms from April 1

Beth Steel’s Sandy and Jonathan Stockill’s Danny in Ryedale Youth Theatre’s Grease The Musical

RYEDALE Youth Theatre heads back to the summer of 1959 at Rydell High to follow the epic love story of Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowksi in Grease The Musical at the Milton Rooms, Malton, from April 1 to 4.

Here come the T-Birds and Pink Ladies, hot rods and timeless songs, such as Summer Nights, We Go Together and Greased Lightning in a show with book, music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey and songs from the 1978 film by arrangement with Robert Stigwood.

Formed in 1991, the main purpose of Ryedale Youth Theatre is to train young people, aged eight to 18, in the Ryedale and York areas in all aspects of the performing arts and in particular musical theatre, both on stage and behind the scenes.

Each Easter, Ryedale Youth Theatre welcomes up to 70 young people to participate in a theatre production, an enriching experience that inspires creativity, teamwork and confidence at an organisation run by dedicated volunteers that relies heavily on the generosity of supporters to fund such productions.

Ryedale Youth Theatre lads in leather in Grease The Musical

Next week, the focus falls on Grease, the American musical that opened on February 5 1971 in Chicago, in a damp, draughty former trolley barn called the Kingston Mines Theatre. On a $171 budget , a non-professional cast of 18 actors played the first of its scheduled “four performances only” to a full house of 120 seats.

Almost immediately, the show was extended…then again and again and again. The rest, as they say, is history.

A year later, on St Valentine’s Day, February 14 1972, the musical romantic comedy opened in New York. Within six months, a national tour crossed the United States and Canada. Then a company opened in Australia.

The first London production premiered at the New London Theatre with a young, unknown Richard Gere as Danny Zuko (the role assumed eventually by co-producer Paul Nicholas). Soon the foreign productions, touring companies and stock and amateur groups seemed to span the globe.

The success of Randal Kleiser’s 1978 motion picture starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John  in 1978 resulted in a new legion of Grease fanatics. Forty-eight years later, the musical continues to play to packed houses.

Ryedale Youth Theatre’s Pink Ladies cast members in Grease The Musical

“Grease doesn’t have a message,” says Ryedale Youth Theatre chair Barbara Wood. “It gives you a flavour of being a teenager in the ’50s – when rock’n’roll and putting grease on your hair were the most important things in life. If people come along to the show and take it on that level, then we’ll give them a party.

“In fact, if you come out of the theatre feeling that you’ve been to the best party in town, then we’ll know that we’re getting it right. A party of the best kind. It was fun then, but it’s just as much fun now!

“What Grease is really all about – more than anything else – is having fun. So, just sit back, kick off your blue suede shoes, and relax. Have a ball! Grease is, after all, a celebration.”

Ryedale Youth Theatre presents  Grease The Musical, Milton Rooms, Malton, April 1 to 4, 7.15pm plus 2pm Thursday and Saturday matinees. Box office: yourboxoffice.co.uk.

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We need to talk about Nigel before Havers heads to Grand Opera House on Monday to reflect on five decades of stage & screen

Ready to talk: Nigel Havers heads to the Grand Opera House on Monday

LET Nigel Havers, veteran actor, host of BBC One auction show The Bidding Room and self-deprecating raconteur, explain why he will be “Talking B*ll*cks” at the Grand Opera House, York, on March 23.

“Well, I loved my first tour – and I think the audiences did too – so here we go again! Join me, a stage, and a lifetime of gloriously ridiculous stories to share with you. You’ll get the full Havers experience: charm, wit, and absolutely no running in slow motion,” he says.

“I’ll be taking you on a thoroughly entertaining trot through five decades in showbiz. From my early days as a fresh-faced drama school hopeful, to the highs and lows of a career that’s seen me in everything from Chariots Of Fire and Empire Of The Sun to Don’t Wait Up and some rather marvellous West End plays – and more than my fair share of [London] Palladium pantos.”

Anything else, Nigel? “Of course, there’ll be behind-the-scenes gossip, tales of triumph (and disaster), moments of sheer madness, and a fair bit of talking b*ll*cks. And just when you think you’ve got me figured out, I might surprise you,” he teases.

“Let’s just say there’s a taste of my very first acting role and a little showcase of one of my off-stage talents – I’ll leave you guessing. So, come along for a night of laughter, nostalgia, and, dare I say, charm. It’s going to be a lot of fun – I promise.”

To put flesh on these bones, Nigel delayed lunch with his wife Georgiana Bronfman for a quick chat – more hors d’oeuvres than main course – with CharlesHutchPress. Having “talked b*ll*cks on the road last year, he has decided to tour again, split into spring and autumn itineraries.

“I did 12 dates and it was such fun, as it’s the first time I’ve been on stage without having to learn lines,” he says. “I can just walk on stage and ‘talk b*ll*cks’. I just go wherever my mind takes me.

“Because I haven’t got a script, I feel very free. I feel great. Whereas if you’ve got a script, you think, ‘Oh my God, what if I forget that bit?’ I don’t have any worries about that anymore. I can’t dry because I can just go on to another anecdote.”

He keeps the show to a tight 90 minutes. “It’s 45 minutes, an interval, than another 45 minutes, and no audience questions,” says Nigel, now 73.

“I can’t think of anything better than doing this show. It’s more fun than I’ve ever had!” says Nigel Havers ahead of his York visit. Picture: Matt Crockett

“I come offstage on a high. I have a dry martini, and then go out to dinner with my missus, which is great. It’s a really wonderful evening. And then I’m on to the next town. It’s fantastic. I can’t think of anything better than doing this show. It’s more fun than I’ve ever had!”

Nigel will be reflecting on a five-decade career that has taken in everything from The Charmer to Passage To India, Benidorm to Coronation Street, Yasmina Reza’s Art to the “golden oldies” version of Oscar Wilde’s “trivial comedy for serious people”, The Importance Of Being Earnest, that he brought to the Grand Opera House with Martin Jarvis as John Worthing to his Algernon Moncrieff in Lucy Bailey’s touring production for the Bunbury Company of Players in November 2015.

“Martin and I had done it at the National Theatre 30 years before, and I said, ‘maybe we should do it again’. Martin wasn’t sure at first, but when I further explored why I wanted to re-visit it, he agreed,” he recalls.

Explaining his working practice, Nigel says: “I’ve always been a ‘letter-box’ actor. When a script comes through the letter box, I’ll think, ‘I’ll do that…”

Or not? “I don’t think I’ve ever turned anything down. At least, I can’t remember doing that. You learn by doing things, and as a young actor, a lot of my contemporaries would say ‘I don’t do that’, but I’d say ‘yes’,” says Nigel.

“I used to walk around the BBC at White City, when no-one would check who you were, and you could meet all the producers and end up being cast.”

Unlike the typical 9 to 5 career, actors spend great parts of their life being “someone else”, whether on screen or stage or in the rehearsal. Nigel disagrees, however. “You’re still playing roles all day [in other jobs] because we all do that – and acting takes that further, but it’s a job and it feels like that.

Nigel Havers in the role of Algernon Moncrieff in the Bunbury Company of Players’ production of The Importance Of Being Earnest, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York, in November 2015. Picture: Tristram Kenton

“My wife doesn’t think it’s a serious job – because you can make it look easy. But it’s like watching tennis and thinking, ‘I could do that’. In reality, anyone who makes it look easy is good at it.”

Nigel is a fixture in the London Palladium pantomime, the biggest show of the year each winter in London. “It’s second nature now,” he says. “I play myself mostly. Last year I was the Keeper of the Privy [in Sleeping Beauty]. There was no plot! I was just abused by Julian [Clary], as everyone in the show is. I’m just his foil!” He will be back for more Clary putdowns next Christmas in his 20th consecutive year in pantomime.

Meanwhile, his talking tour rolls on, where the only bump in the road is the title. “Whenever I go on any TV or radio show, they tell me, ‘Whatever you do, don’t mention the title of the show.’ ‘What? Talking B-?’ ‘Don’t say that!’,” he says.

“You could call b*ll*cks ‘nonsense’. If you talk ‘b*ll*cks’, you can talk to anyone – and ‘b*ll*cks’ isn’t a swear word. Lindsay Hoyle [Speaker of the House of Commons] confirmed that the other day in Parliament.”

Beyond anecdotes, what features in the show? “I do a bit of magic, which always goes wrong. I love doing magic tricks, but I do them really quite badly!” says Nigel. “I also make the perfect dry martini at the end. I drag my wife on stage to help me hand out the glasses to the audience. But I don’t allow her to speak because that would cost me money!”

Nigel’s lunch was calling, but not before one last question. Does he have one particular role he still craves playing? “Absolutely nothing that I haven’t done yet! I never have those ambitions. I just wait for the latter box.”

Nigel Havers: Talking B*ll*cks, Grand Opera House, York, March 23, 7.30pm . Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Never mind the title! The poster for Nigel Havers’ Talking B*ll*cks tour show

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The Full Monty to play Grand Opera House, York, on 30th anniversary tour in July 2027. When do tickets go on sale?

Stripped back: The Full Monty to return in 2027 tour

THE 30th anniversary of Peter Cattaneo’s Sheffield stripping film The Full Monty will be marked by the 2027 tour of screenplay writer Simon Beaufoy’s spin-off play that will visit the Grand Opera House, York, from July 12 to 17.

The tour will be mounted by the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, and Buxton Opera House in association with Mark Goucher and David Pugh.

Tickets will go on sale to ATG+ members on Wednesday, March 11 at 10am, followed by general sales from Thursday, March 12 at 10am. Star casting will be announced in due course.

Beaufoy’s heartfelt play tells the story of an ordinary group of men in South Yorkshire’s Steel City striving to reclaim their dignity and pride. Fast paced and irresistibly humorous, it remains strikingly relevant today, resonating powerfully in an era marked once again by a cost-of-living crisis.

What happens in The Full Monty? Gaz and his mates find themselves down on their luck, cast aside and underestimated, but determined to fight back, even if it means revealing more than they ever imagined.

Beaufoy says: “A lot has changed in Britain since The Full Monty appeared 30 years ago. What hasn’t changed is our need for laughter, compassion and dignity. I’m so delighted the ‘Monty Men’ are back on the road with all their flaws, jokes and wobbly bits, bringing a bit of much-needed joy to audiences once again.”

Echoing the 1997 smash-hit film, next year’s touring production will deliver a rollercoaster of humour and heartbreak as audiences are invited to relive the iconic music of the 1990s, cheering on the unforgettable group of lads as they prepare to put on the show of their lives.

Beaufoy received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for The Full Monty, later winning  an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Slumdog Millionaire.

The Full Monty tour production will be directed by Michael Gyngell, with choreography and intimacy direction by Ian West, set and costume design by Jasmine Swann, lighting design by Andrew Exeter and sound design by Chris Whybrow. The casting director is Marc Frankum.

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More Things To Do in York & beyond as greatest showman shows up & abbey lights up. Hutch’s List No. 7, from The York Press

Child’s play: Andrew Renn, Jon Cook and Jess Murray, back row, with Mark Simmonds and Victoria Delaney in York Settlement Community Players’ Blue Remembered Hills. Picture: John Saunders

FROM Dennis Potter to Stephen Sondheim, showman  P.T. Barnum to Selby Abbey’s light installation, Charles Hutchinson is spoilt for cultural choice.

Play of the week: York Settlement Community Players in Blue Remembered Hills, York Theatre Royal Studio, until February 28, 7.45pm nightly, except Sunday and Monday, plus 2pm Saturday matinees

FLEUR Hebditch, former Stephen Joseph Theatre dramaturg for a decade, makes her Settlement Players directorial debut with Dennis Potter’s stage adaptation of his 1979 BBC Play For Today drama.

Seven children are playing in the Forest of Dean countryside on a hot summer’s day in 1943. Each aged seven, they mimic and reflect the adult world at war around them, but their innocence is short lived as reality hits. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Cole Stacey’s social media posting for his Rise@Bluebird Bakery gig

Folk gig of the week: Cole Stacey, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York tonight, doors 7.30pm

VISCERAL singer-songwriter Cole Stacey weaves together British folk, 1980s’ pop, spoken word and ambient electronics, as heard on last February’s debut album with its symbiosis of “lost” places and forgotten words, stretching back to the 13th century, paired with his lyrical songwriting and field recordings.

“I’d like to invite you to come along with me on the next chapter as I head out to share Postcards From Lost Places in some unique and inspiring settings, beginning in York tonight,” says Stacey. “I loved my time and bread last year playing at Bluebird Bakery, so I’m very delighted to be invited back for an intimate gig in their fully working bakery. It’s a special setting and one I’m thoroughly looking forward to!” Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk.

Dnipro Opera in Carmen, on tour at York Barbican

Opera of the week: Dnipro Opera (Ukrainian National Opera) in Carmen, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.30pm

THE Dnipro Opera, from Ukraine, performs Georges Bizet’s Carmen in French with English surtitles, accompanied by an orchestra numbering more than 30 musicians. 

Feel the thrill of fiery passion, jealousy, and violence of 19th century Seville in Carmen’s story of the downfall of naive soldier Don José,  who falls head over heels in love with seductive, free-spirited femme fatale Carmen. Whereupon he abandons his childhood sweetheart and neglects his military duties, only to lose the fickle Carmen to the glamorous toreador Escamillo. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Showman extraordinaire: Lee Mead’s P. T. Barnum in Barnum: The Circus Musical at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith

Touring musical of the week: Bill Kenwright Ltd in Barnum: The Circus Musical, Grand Opera House, York, February 24 to 28, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees

MUSICALS leading man Lee Mead plays the most challenging role of his career, stepping into P. T. Barnum’s shoes and on to the tightrope as the legendary circus showman, businessman and politician in Jonathan O’Boyle’s touring production of the Broadway musical.

Mead leads the cast of more than 20 actor-musicians (playing 150 instruments), acrobats and international circus acts as, hand in hand with wife Charity, Barnum finds his life and career twisting and turning the more he schemes and dreams his way to headier heights. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Alexandra Mather’s Anne Egerman and Jason Weightman’s Fredrick Egerman in rehearsal for Wharfemede Productions’ A Little Night Music

Sondheim show of the week: Wharfemede Productions in A Little Night Music, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 24 to 28, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

SET in turn-of-the-20th century Sweden, A Little Night Music explores the tangled web of love, desire, and regret through Stephen Sondheim’s signature blend of sophistication, humour and hauntingly beautiful music, not least the timeless Send In The Clowns.

Directed by Helen “Bells” Spencer, Wharfemede Productions’ show combines the North Yorkshire company’s hallmark attention to emotional depth, musical high quality and character-driven ensemble storytelling. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Disney In Concert: The Sound Of Magic, celebrating music from Walt Disney’s animated films at York Barbican

Movie music of the week: Disney In Concert: The Sound Of Magic, York Barbican, February 25, 7.30pm

THE Novello Orchestra’s Disney In Concert: The Sound Of Magic performance is a symphonic celebration of Disney music, animation and memories, a century in the making, under the direction of creative director Amy Tinkham, music director Giles Martin and arranger and orchestrator Ben Foster. 

Favourite characters and music from across the Walt Disney Animation Studios catalogue come to life on the concert hall stage and screen in new medleys and suites on a magic carpet ride through Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, Moana, Alice In Wonderland, Aladdin, The Jungle Book, Frozen, The Lion King, Fantasia, Encanto, Beauty And The Beast and more. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Homeward bound for Selby Abbey: Imitating The Dog’s large-scale installation

Installation of the week: Selby Light 2026, Selby Abbey, February 26 to 28, 6pm to 9pm

SELBY Abbey will be the setting for Homeward, Leeds company Imitating The Dog’s  large-scale installation celebrating our different stories and the unified feeling of finding home, framed by the question How Did You Get Here?

Inside, the installation continues as a walk-through experience, complemented by Jazmin Morris’s Through The Liquid Crystal Display, a series of visual code illustrations inspired by Selby Abbey. The trail then extends into the town centre with works by Selby College students. Admission is free.

Phoenix Dance Theatre in Interplay: World premiere opens at York Theatre Royal next Friday and Saturday. Picture: Drew Forsyth

Dance show of the week: Phoenix Dance Theatre, Interplay, York Theatre Royal, February 27, 7.30pm; February 28, 2pm, 7.30pm

LEEDS company Phoenix Dance Theatre’s world premiere tour of Interplay opens at York Theatre Royal next Friday and Saturday, featuring dynamic works by Travis Knight and James Pett (Small Talk), Ed Myhill (Why Are People Clapping?!), Yusha-Marie Sorzano & Phoenix artistic director Marcus Jarrell Willis (Suite Release) and Willis’s Next Of Kin. 

Across duet and ensemble works, Interplay explores themes of duality and shared authorship, revealing how distinct artistic voices can intersect to create something greater than the sum of their parts. Each piece offers a unique perspective, united by a bold physicality and a deep curiosity about human relationships, rhythm and collective experience. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Levellers: Levelling The Land anew at York Barbican this autumn

Gig announcement of the week: Levellers, York Barbican, October 29

BRIGHTON folk-rockers Levellers have been among Britain’s most enduring and best-loved bands for nearly 40 years, their success in part built on the anthems that comprised their platinum-selling second album Levelling The Land, whose 35th anniversary falls on October 7.

To mark the occasion, Levellers will head out on a UK and European tour from October 16 to November 21, playing many songs from that album, alongside fan favourites from their extensive catalogue. Hotly tipped Essex punk duo The Meffs will support. Box office: https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/levellers-2026/.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 7, from Gazette & Herald

Victoria Delaney in rehearsal for York Settlement Community Players’ Blue Remembered Hills. Picture: John Saunders

FROM Dennis Potter to Stephen Sondheim, showman  P.T. Barnum to a Phil Collins tribute, Charles Hutchinson is spoilt for cultural choice amid the incessant rainfall.

Play of the week: York Settlement Community Players in Blue Remembered Hills, York Theatre Royal Studio, tonight to February 28, 7.45pm, except Sunday and Monday; February 21 and 28, 2pm matinees

FLEUR Hebditch, former Stephen Joseph Theatre dramaturg for a decade, makes her Settlement Players directorial debut with Dennis Potter’s stage adaptation of his 1979 BBC Play For Today drama.

Seven children are playing in the Forest of Dean countryside on a hot summer’s day in 1943. Each aged seven, they mimic and reflect the adult world at war around them. Their innocence is short lived, however, as reality hits. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Blue Remembered Hills director Fleur Hebditch

Spooky adventure of the week: Flying Ducks Youth Theatre in The Addams Family Musical, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow  to Saturday, 7pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee

YORK company Flying Ducks Youth Theatre undertake a whimsical, spooky musical adventure into the delightfully dark world of the hauntingly eccentric Addams Family on a night of unexpected revelations.

When Wednesday Addams falls in love with a “normal” boy, chaos ensues. As the two families converge over dinner, secrets are revealed and the true meaning of family is put to the test. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Kathryn Williams: Opening Mystery Park Tour at Pocklington Arts Centre

Time’s shifting tides of the week: Kathryn Williams, Mystery Park Tour 2026, Pocklington Arts Centre, Friday, 8pm

KATHRYN Williams, the Liverpool-born, Newcastle-based folk singer-songwriter, novelist, podcaster, tutor and artist long celebrated for her quiet emotional depth and lyrical precision, promotes her 15th studio album, last September’s Mystery Park, with support and special guest guitarist Matt Deighton in tow.

Opening her 12-date tour in Pocklington, 2000 Mercury Music Prize nominee Williams marks 27 years of diverse, multi-faceted music projects with a reflective, textured work, made in the quiet margins of motherhood and memory, shaped by time’s shifting tides. “This is the most personal record I’ve made,” she says. “The artwork is my own painting, based on the willow pattern from my grandmother’s tea sets. Each part of it ties into the songs: a map of memories.” Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Megson’s Debs Hanna and Stu Hanna: Performing at Helmsley Arts Centre on Friday

Folk gig of the week: Megson, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm

FOUR-TIME BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards nominees and double Spiral Earth Awards winners Megson combine heavenly vocals, lush harmonies and driving rhythmic guitars, topped off with northern humour. 

Hailing from Teesside and now based in Cambridgeshire, husband-and-wife folk roots duo Debs Hanna (vocals, whistle, piano accordion) and Stu Hanna (guitar, mandola, banjo) followed up 2023 studio album What Are We Trying To Say with Megson – Live In Teesside, recorded at Stockton-on-Tees Arc in 2025. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Ryedale film event of the week: Summit Stories, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Friday, 7.30pm

THIS evening of adventure films to raise funds for the Scarborough & Ryedale branch of Mountain Rescue England & Wales features a variety of exciting off-piste adventures, such as ski mountaineering, mountain climbing and mountain biking.

Created by elite athletes from around the world, the Faction Collective’s 150 Hours From Home, Blair Aitken of British Backcountry’s 10 In A Weekend, Commencal’s Dolomites and Jessie Leong’s The Last Forgotten Art contain scenes to take the breath away. The mountain rescue team, by the way, supports adventurers when things go wrong and conducts  day-to-day searches and rescues off the beaten track. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

Seriously Collins: Taking Phil Collins at Face Value in tribute to solo and Genesis years at Milton Rooms, Malton

Tribute gig of the week: Seriously Collins – A Tribute To Phil Collins & Genesis, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 8pm

RETURNING by popular demand, Seriously Collins relive the hits of Phil Collins and Genesis, taking a musical journey through the songs that defined an era, echoing Collins’s soulful solo sound and re-creating the energy, intricacy and intensity of his more expansive original band. Expect “no gimmicks, just a genuine tribute to one of the greatest artists of our time”. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Lee Mead, centre, as showman P. T. Barnum, surrounded by actor musicians and circus acts in Barnum: The Circus Musical, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith

Touring musical of the week: Bill Kenwright Ltd in Barnum: The Circus Musical, Grand Opera House, York, February 24 to 28, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees

MUSICALS leading man Lee Mead plays the most challenging role of his career, stepping into P. T. Barnum’s shoes and on to the tightrope as the legendary circus showman, businessman and politician in Jonathan O’Boyle’s touring production of the Broadway musical.

Mead leads the cast of more than 20 actor-musicians (playing 150 instruments), acrobats and international circus acts as, hand in hand with wife Charity, Barnum finds his life and career twisting and turning the more he schemes and dreams his way to headier heights. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Maggie Smales’s Madame Armfeldt and Libby Greenhill’s Fredrika rehearsing for Wharfemede Productions’ A Little Night Music

Sondheim show of the week: Wharfemede Productions in A Little Night Music, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 24 to 28, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

SET in turn-of-the-century Sweden, A Little Night Music explores the tangled web of love, desire, and regret through Stephen Sondheim’s signature blend of sophistication, humour and hauntingly beautiful music, not least the timeless Send In The Clowns.

Directed by Helen “Bells” Spencer, Wharfemede Productions’ show combines the York company’s hallmark attention to emotional depth, musical high quality and character-driven ensemble storytelling. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Levellers: Revisiting Levelling The Land at York Barbican this autumn. Picture: Steve Gullick

Gig announcement of the week: Levellers, Levelling The Land 35th Anniversary Tour, York Barbican, October  29

BRIGHTON folk-rockers Levellers have been among Britain’s most enduring and best-loved bands for nearly 40 years, their success built in part on the anthems that comprised their platinum-selling second album Levelling The Land, whose 35th anniversary falls on October 7.

To mark the occasion, Levellers will head out on a UK and European tour from October 16 to November 21, playing many songs from that album, alongside fan favourites from their extensive catalogue. Hotly tipped Essex punk duo The Meffs will support. Tickets go on sale on Friday at 10am from https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/levellers-2026/.